Kojuri and Dr. Rahim Rahimi, both from Shiraz University in
Iran, assessed blood pressure and 24-hour urinary sodium
excretion in 60 individuals before and after instructing them
to follow a 'no salt added' diet for 6 weeks.

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Twenty subjects who did not follow the diet were used as a
comparison group ("controls"). All of the subjects were similar
in age, gender, weight, blood pressure, and initial urinary
sodium excretion.

The average age was 49, half were men, and all of the
patients had mild to moderate hypertension, according to the
report, published in the medical journal BMC Cardiovascular
Disorders.

After 6 weeks, the researchers noted a significant
reduction in urinary sodium excretion in those on the diet,
compared with those not on the diet.

The blood pressure reductions were seen even in the 50
percent of the patients who consumed a medium amount (3 to 7
grams/day) of dietary salt and the 25 percent of the patients
who ingested 7 or more grams per day. Only 21 percent of the
subjects consumed less than 3 grams of salt daily.

These results provide strong support for universal salt
reduction in all hypertensive individuals, the researchers
conclude, but the limited size of this study "mandates larger
scale, population based studies to (further) evaluate the
effect of a 'no salt added' diet," Kojuri told Reuters Health.